HIGH POINT, NC – JANUARY 22, 2018 – Mike Tucker, the former President & CEO of VT Hackney, Inc., and a 26-year veteran of the company, has joined Mickey Truck Bodies as Executive Vice President, Strategic Growth & Business Development. He reports to Dean Sink, Mickey President &CEO.

In this newly created role, Tucker will work with Mickey’s Team Leaders and Senior Management to support the company’s ambitious objectives for growth, performance, operational and financial targets.

“We are in a period of tremendous growth at Mickey Truck Bodies, in all areas of operation, and our plans for future growth continue to be aggressive,” says Sink. “As an executive with proven experience, vision and leadership within our specific industry, Mike is uniquely qualified to help us maximize our business value and returns over extended periods of time and in all business cycles.”

Washington, NC-based VT Hackney is a manufacturer of specialized truck bodies and trailers serving food and beverage markets under the Hackney and Kidron brands. As President & CEO from 2007, Tucker held full P&L responsibility for the business and oversaw facilities in four states (NC/OH/PA/KS) with approximately 750 employees. He joined Hackney in 1990 as Manager of Manufacturing Strategy and advanced through the company as Director of Operations, Director of Marketing & New Business Development, and President & COO of the Hackney Division. Tucker is a graduate of Duke University.

Mickey Truck Bodies has been privately owned and operated by the Mickey family since the company was started in High Point, NC in 1904. Today Mickey is the premier manufacturer of state-of-the-art delivery equipment and specially-engineered vehicles sold in over 50 countries around the world. The products are prevalent in industries such as food & beverage, vending, battery, oil & natural gas, data storage, propane, medical & rescue, moving & storage, furniture. Mickey operates a total of 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space among 6 separate locations (High Point and Thomasville, NC; Bloomington, IL; Ocala, FL; Freehold NJ; and Berwick, PA.)

HIGH POINT, NC – JANUARY 22, 2018 – Mickey Truck Bodies has announced that it will hire up to 50 new employees during the first quarter of 2018 to meet production demands for its line of delivery bodies and trailers and specially-engineered vehicles. Many of these jobs will be in its recently opened liftgate installation facility in High Point, adjacent to the company’s main manufacturing and office complex on Trinity Ave.

The new facility was opened in October 2017 and houses a total of 15 bays for liftgate installations and chassis preparation. The van body business is one of Mickey’s fastest growing segments, and liftgates are one of the most popular accessories on these types of vehicles. Mickey expects to triple van body production within the next couple of years.

“Many of our customer industries are moving more toward using liftgates for driver safety and productivity,” says Dean Sink, Mickey President. “They are viable delivery accessories whether you are delivering dry goods, food, beverages – virtually any product or packaged good that comes off a truck.” In 2018 the company expects to install 5,000 liftgates at it new High Point facility. Mickey is an authorized installer for all major liftgate brands.

The majority of new hires will be experienced aluminum and steel welders, liftgate installers and line-assembly operators responsible for producing Van Body components and assembling the components into completed truck bodies and trailers.

“We offer a very competitive hourly wage and a superior benefits package that includes medical, 401k match, and incentives for safety, quality and attendance,” says Sink. “We have welders here who are earning as much as $50,000 to $60,000 annually. We have a very low turnover rate. Over 40% of our 400-plus full-time Mickey teammates have been with the company for at least 5 years, and 30% have been here for 10 years or more.”

Since 2014 Josh has worked for Knapheide Manufacturing Company – a manufacturer of work-ready vehicles from Class 1 up to Class 8, including truck bodies and truck beds and van equipment – most recently as Regional General for California and Nevada. He was responsible for sales, operations, purchasing, supply chain and logistics, and human resources. He was also Assembly Operations Manager and Utility Body Assembly Manager during his tenure at Knapheide. Prior to Knapheide Josh spent 4 years with Caterpillar Inc. in a variety of manufacturing and engineering positions.

“We are dedicated to continuous improvement throughout all areas of manufacturing, including safety, quality and on-time delivery. As we identify these opportunities we must have the right people in the right places to execute change,” says Matt. “Josh has the experience and expertise to lead these improvements within our manufacturing operation. At the same time, his appointment will allow me to focus more strategically on developing products and features to help our customers operate more safely, productively and profitably.”

Josh served in the United States Army from 2006 through 2010, achieving the rank of Captain. He received the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Action Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, National Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Meritorious Unit Citation. He holds a Six Sigma Green Belt and Federal HazMat Certification. Josh earned a B.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from East Carolina University and an M.A. in International Relations from Norwich University.

The Rockingham United Mobile Market, a fully stocked mobile food pantry operated by Rockingham United Inc. – a partnership between the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and LOT 2540 – made its maiden voyage on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at Hometown Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Reidsville, NC in conjunction with this year’s Feed Rockingham celebration.

The mobile pantry was reconditioned from a 2004 beverage trailer manufactured by Mickey Truck Bodies (High Point, NC) for one of its customers – a major branded beer distributor. Mickey also handled the complete reconditioning and up-fitting of the trailer at its full-service Reconditioning & Repair Center in Thomasville, NC.

Rockingham United’s mobile food truck will provide much needed food, health and nutrition programming and resource referral services to qualified citizens that have difficulties accessing healthy food in areas of Rockingham County that do not provide coordinated hunger relief services. In 2017-2018 the mobile pantry’s goal is to distribute over 200,000 pounds of healthy food to 7,500 households across the county.

Patrons can enter the rear of the Pantry to make their food selections and exit in the front of the vehicle.

“Working with Mickey Truck Bodies has been a great adventure,” says Marty Roberts, Director at LOT 2540 Inc. “Seeing a vision and a dream come to life through this talented group of professionals has been amazing. From the first moment we began utilizing the Mobile Market, we began to see people coming together to live healthier lives – physically spiritually and emotionally. All areas of North Carolina need this vital tool for their communities.”

“The build quality and durability of the original Mickey beverage trailer, combined with the dedicated craftsmen at Mickey’s Mid-Atlantic Reconditioning & Service Center, made it possible for us to recondition and up-fit the unit to meet Rockingham United’s exact specifications for the mobile food pantry,” says Mike Armentrout, General Manager & Sales Manager for Mickey’s Mid-Atlantic Reconditioning & Service Center in Thomasville, NC. “The Mobile Market Food Pantry will be able to deliver many meals to many needy people for many years to come.”

Mickey’s continued focus on safety has resulted in a streak of 260 consecutive days without a lost-time accident (as of press time), and another Biscuit Breakfast for the entire Mickey Team. They get the biscuits for every 30-straight days without a lost-time accident.

“We are setting a new company safety record every day we continue this current streak,” says Josh Soto, Mickey’s EHSQ Manager. “The Mickey Team has done a great job this year keeping safety first. Our frequently-conducted audits consistently show significant declines in the total number of safety audit items found. In addition, our individual team members in the plants are becoming more proactive in identifying behaviors that could potentially provide a safer environment to work in. Just because we are setting a new safety record every day does not mean we are content with our accomplishments. We continue to look at ways to improve our safety performance every day.”

Number 1 on my list of favorite things is safety. So, this holiday season I have a lot to celebrate. As I write this column, my Mickey teammates are working on a streak of 260 straight days without a lost-time accident, and every day that this streak continues represents a new Mickey record. We know that when we work safely, we work productively. Our employees go home to their families every afternoon and they come back every morning ready to work. Our productivity improves the quality of our workmanship and our on-time delivery rate. That means happy customers and repeat business. Now do you see why safety is so high up on my list?

Another one of my favorite things is loyalty. I just reviewed the Mickey Employee Tenure List and was very happy to see that over 40% of our 400-plus full-time Mickey teammates have been with the company for at least 5 years, and 30% of us have been here for 10 years or more. Four of our teammates celebrated their 40-year Mickey anniversaries this year – Debbie Deal, Rocky Barham, Reggie Horne and Mike Rabon. There are a couple of points to be made here. First, this must be a pretty good place to work because once people start here, they tend to stay for a long time. Second, imagine the experience we offer our customers who are looking for high quality equipment and services.

One more of my favorite things: growth. As a company we experienced tremendous growth in 2017. We built a brand new facility here in High Point dedicated to liftgate installation, and we acquired a new manufacturing location consisting of two facilities in Salem Township, PA to serve our growing Northeastern U.S. market.

Mickey Truck Bodies has been named to the 2017 Grant Thornton North Carolina 100® (NC100), which ranks the state’s largest private companies by revenue. The complete list was released in the October issue of Business North Carolina and can be viewed at GrantThornton.com/NC100. Mickey is the only High Point-based company to make the 2017 list.

“We are honored to be named to the 2017 Grant Thornton North Carolina 100® list,” says Dean Sink, Mickey President. “This recognition reaffirms our prominence in North Carolina and our commitment to the community. We are proud to be recognized as one of the most innovative, top-performing businesses in our state.”

Mickey Truck Bodies has been privately owned and operated by the Mickey family since the company was started in High Point, NC in 1904. Today, Mickey manufactures high quality all-aluminum truck bodies and trailers for several industries, including beverage, automotive battery, propane tanks, moving, emergency services and oil & gas. The Mickey team numbers over 400 across its 6 U.S. locations covering approximately 500,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space.

This month, Mickey expanded its manufacturing capabilities by opening a plant in Salem Township, PA. The company also recently constructed a new liftgate installation facility adjacent to its main manufacturing plant in High Point, NC.

Since 1984, the Grant Thornton North Carolina 100® has ranked the state’s largest private companies by revenue in the most recent fiscal year, based on data provided by the participants. The NC100 is a voluntary list restricted to companies based in North Carolina that do not have publicly traded stock. Companies owned by private equity are permitted. Nonprofits, financial-services companies, health care providers such as hospitals and subsidiaries of corporations are excluded.

Tommy Smith has joined Mickey Truck Bodies as Director of Reconditioning & Services, responsible for all operations related to reconditioning, service, parts and used equipment, the same areas previously managed by Kyle McLaughlin. Both Kyle and Tommy report directly to Dean Sink, Mickey President.

Kyle has been assigned to the new position of VP of Corporate Van Body Accounts and Distributor Sales. He will work closely with Jim Hiatt to expand Mickey’s business with its large corporate customers, such as Enterprise, Canteen and Iron Mountain, while at the same time increasing sales of the company’s Reefer, Party Time Trailer and Vending units through its distributor network. In addition, he will be work with the executive team to identify new product opportunities.

Tommy comes to Mickey with 25 years of hands-on experience at Thomas Built Buses in High Point, where he held a variety of management positions covering every aspect of the reconditioning business, including engineering, parts, customer service and material costs. “He has all the tools to take this part of our company to the next level,” says Dean.

“Kyle has done an outstanding job of growing our reconditioning, parts and used equipment businesses to record levels by building solid customer relations and employing creative marketing concepts,” Dean adds. “We expect him to apply that same energy and creativity to help build Mickey Truck Bodies into a national powerhouse in the van body manufacturing industry via direct and distributor sales.”

Traffic was non-stop at the Mickey NBWA booth, where attendees had a good look at the Party Time Event Trailer – inside and out.

Beer wholesalers at the recent NBWA Convention in Las Vegas flocked to booth #207 to get an up-close look at the latest version of Mickey Truck Bodies’ Party Time Event Trailer, complete with new thermal efficient composite panels, large rear doors for forklift loading, and a Honda generator. Parked in the Mickey exhibit space on the convention floor, NBWA attendees could easily see how the Party Time unit would offer outstanding curb appeal at any type of event.

“We had eight members of our sales team at the convention, and on the first day there was not enough of us to handle all the interest in the Party Time,” says Tom Arland, Mickey’s Vice President of Beverage, Van and Specialty Vehicle Sales. “Even our competitors came by the booth to take photos of our unit. The Mickey Party Time Event Trailer was a ‘WOW’ factor at this year’s show.”

“Wholesalers were very impressed with the Party Time’s large rear entry doors and the spacious interior that allows them to stand up and move kegs around more easily and safely than in traditional event units,” adds Gary Remley, Northeast Regional Manager. “They also liked the fact that we offer multiple tap options on both sides of the body, colored LED lights and a great sound system.” (Click HERE for more information on the Party Time Event Trailer.)

While wholesalers were in the Mickey booth to see the Party Time unit, they also caught up on the company’s latest features designed to improve driver productivity – the Mickey automated roll-up door and the E-Lock electronic door locking system. “With Mickey’s new E-Door and E-Lock, drivers can open, close, lock and unlock bay doors with just the push of a button. They will reduce workers’ comp claims and eliminate the problem of lost keys and frozen or broken locks,” says Gary.

Another hot topic of conversation at the convention was Mickey’s new 21st Century bulk trailer, designed and built specifically for beverage delivery. The trailer is ideal for full-pallet delivery at a loading dock or street level, and its aerodynamic design with rivetless side skins offers improved handling, lower maintenance and fuel costs, longer life and higher residual value. (Click HERE for more information on the 21st Century Trailer.)